As we public librarians continue to stretch those acquisitions dollars for the ever expanding range of eContent, evaluation is a must. Are we getting enough bang for our buck from those pricey digital libraries? Is it a sound investment of our limited financial resources? While there’s no cut and dried formula for all libraries, here are some factors to consider:

What’s more difficult than dealing with a thorny patron issue? How about mending a difficult situation with the person you work with everyday? In these circumstances, the relationship with your colleague is paramount. We’ll discuss how to troubleshoot three awkward situations below.

According to the PEW study from last June, about 75% of the country’s libraries have eBooks. Let’s take a moment to applaud ourselves and our institutions for so quickly adapting to the eBook market! Now for the bad news: most of our patrons, even our most dedicated and interested customers, don’t know we’ve got this great resource. The same study reports, “58% of all those who says the library is very important to them say they do not know if their library lends e-books[1].”

Libraries today are faced with the difficult task of doing more with less. Nowhere is this more evident than in the balance of books and technology. There is an ever increasing demand for digital content, yet the circulation of print materials continues to soar. While there is no one size fits all approach, there are some important factors to consider while determining materials allocations.

During a time of budget cuts and stretched finances, partnerships can be a great way to do more with less. One of the best collaborations public libraries can make is with their local school libraries. By discussing community needs and sharing resources, both libraries will profit immensely. Since this type of collaboration is hardly a novel idea, here are a couple fresh approaches to the school and public library alliance.

Library Snapshot Day is an engaging way to capture “a day in the life” of libraries and their support of communities. Through reports and statistics, patron participation and testimonials, and photographs, we can reveal the invaluable contributions of libraries.

As new eContent vendors explode on the market, looking at the direct and indirect costs of digital services are critical. More and more options are emerging in the realm of digital services for public libraries. As our choices increase with new offerings, we must continually evaluate our existing digital services even as we explore other opportunities. Cost is king, so let’s break down all of the expense associated with any digital service, including indirect costs of staff time and training.